But For the Grace of God Go I
by Girl-Can't-Help-It
Summary: When Dean discovers he has a daughter, he isn't enthused. He's looking for his father, what is he supposed to do with a child? But after discovering the years of abuse Danielle has suffered,can Dean accepted fate and just take it as is? Set in Season One.
1. The Discovery of Danielle

**Disclaimer: Please. If I owned Sam and Dean, I would not be writing about them here.**

**Author's Notes: Okay, so I really enjoy writing daughter fic's! Dean makes such a good dad, though! This one is a LOT different than my other one. This story begins in the first season, between Bugs and Home. It will continue (in segments) till the show ends. So, yeah, I'm in it for the long haul! I'm not too crazy about this first chapter, but it had to be written. I'll get into the episodes in the next chapter. So...if anyone is still reading this...go!**

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_In my daughters eyes, I am a hero_  
_I am strong and wise, and I know no fear  
But the truth is plain to see  
She was sent to rescue me  
I see who I want to be  
In my daughter's eyes  
_

_-Martina McBride_

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Bobby Singer answered the loud knock at his door. He was surprised to see Jacob Nash, an old hunter friend, standing there. A little blonde girl was hovering behind him. At first Bobby thought it was his daughter, but then remembered that Jacob's daughter would be over twenty by now.

"Jake?"

"Do you know how to get in touch with the Winchester boys?" The man asked, not even saying hi.

"Uh, yeah." Bobby answered, taken aback. "I have their cell phone numbers. Do you need them?"

"No." Jake said. He roughly pulled the little girl forward. "My daughter claimed that the oldest one fathered this child. I don't know if that's true or not, but my daughter is dead and I can't take care of this girl. I'll just leave her here and you can call that boy to come and get her."

"But-." Bobby started, but Jake was in his truck and gone before he could get the rest of his words out. He looked at the little girl standing on his porch.

"What's your name, honey?" He asked her, leading her inside.

"Danielle." She answered.

She pushed some of stringy blonde hair from her face and Bobby could see some definite resemblance to a young Dean. The eyes, the freckles, the shape of her nose.

"Look." Bobby adjusted his hat. "I'm gonna go call Dean, see how far away they are."

Danielle sat at his table, hugging her bag to her. She was sad that her mother was dead, but glad to be away from her grandfather. She wondered what her father would be like. She only knew cruelty at the hands of men, mainly her grandpa.

"I don't know, Dean." She could hear Bobby talking in the other room. "Did you ever have a thing with Jake Nash's daughter? Well, then I'd say she probably is yours. She sure looks like you. I don't know. He just left her here, said you could have her. Dean, I can't take care of her. You have to come get her. Okay, we'll be here. Okay. Bye."

"They're just coming out of Oklahoma." Bobby told her, coming back in. "Should be here in about ten hours or so. Can you, uh, hang out till then?"

Danielle nodded and looked around. Her stomach rumbled loudly, and she looked down, scared he was going to yell at her.

"You're hungry?" Bobby asked. She nodded, not looking up from the floor. "I'll make you a sandwich, how about that?"

"Okay." She whispered.

A few minutes later, she was eating a ham and cheese sandwich and drinking a glass of milk. She liked this man, Bobby; he was being very nice.

"Do you know my dad well?" She asked him.

He was surprised that she had spoken to him. "Yeah. I've known him and his brother since they were younger than you. How old are you, by the way?"

"Twelve." She answered, taking another bite. "What's he like?"

"Well...he's something else, let's just say that." Bobby chuckled.

"Is he mean?"

Bobby thought she was kidding, but the look in her eyes told him she wasn't. What kind of life had this little girl led to make her want to ask a question like that?

"No. He's a good guy."

"What about his brother?" She asked. "My uncle. Is he mean?"

"No." Bobby shook his head. "Sam is a good guy, too."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Several hours later, the Impala was pulling into Bobby's driveway. Danielle, who had kept herself occupied by reading through some old books, peered out the window. She could make out two human shapes in the dark, one very tall, the other slightly shorter, making their way up to the front door.

"She's in here." Bobby said, leading the brothers in.

Danielle eyed them, wondering which on was her dad. The tall on with the shaggy hair, maybe? Or was it it the shorter one, in the leather jacket?

"Well, she certainly looks like you, Dean." The tall one said. So he must be her uncle, Sam. That would make the short one...oh.

He was studying her like he couldn't quite believe his eyes. He came closer. "What's your name?" He asked.

"Danielle Winchester." She answered, not looking at him.

"Your last name is Winchester?" Her uncle asked. He sounded surprised.

"It's on my birth certificate." She said, pulling it out of her bag. "Even though my grandpa refused to call me that."

Dean studied the birth certificate quickly. There he was, listed as the father. So even if this girl _wasn't_ really his, legally she was. He handed it to Sam to look at.

"Why did your grandfather leave you here?" He asked her.

"He said he didn't want me." She sounded indifferent. "It's okay. I don't want him, either."

"Sam." Dean motioned for his brother to come closer. "We have to take her with us."

Sam sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I know. I don't know how we're gonna find dad with her in tow, but we'll figure out something."

Twenty minutes later, she had said good bye to Bobby and was now sitting in the backseat of the Impala. Her dad was blasting Pink Floyd. He had told her to call him Dean for now.

"Is that all you have?" Her uncle had turned around in the seat and was talking to her. He nodded to her bag.

"Yes."

"Dean, she's gonna need some stuff." Sam said.

Dean sighed. "Like what?"

"Like clothes, bath stuff, and other girl things." Sam rolled his eyes. "Just find a Wal-mart or a K-Mart, okay?"

"Fine."

They found a SuperCenter two towns later. Dean opted to wait in the car while Sam took Danielle shopping. Danielle liked Sam already, but she was unsure about her father. He seemed so gruff.

In the store Sam let her pick out some clothing and some new shoes. He also grabbed her some shampoo and other toiletries. It only took them about an hour to get it all.

"You really need a new bag, don't you?" Sam asked, thinking back to the old, dirty canvas bag she had.

She shrugged. That bag was the same one she always had. Why did she need a new one? Sam insisted, however, and she picked out a big, bright pink, bag.

"Is this okay?" She asked him.

"I think that's perfect." Sam said. "You want some books or something? You know, for the road."

He was actually going to buy something that she didn't need? Wow.

She picked out a few different young adult books and some magazines. Sam bought her a little denim backpack to carry them in. Then they went to the check out lanes.

By the time they got back out to the car, Dean was fast asleep.

"Shh." Sam held his finger to his lips. He and Danielle crept over to the car and quietly climbed in. Sam reached over and honked the horn loudly. Dean jumped.

"Roast beef!" He shouted, before realizing where he was. "You suck." He muttered. He turned around and eyed the shopping bags surrounding the girl (he still refused to think of her as his daughter) in the backseat. "You think you bought enough?"

"She needed a lot." Sam said, still laughing. Even Danielle was giggling quietly, but she stopped when he looked at her. Her eyes widened and she shrunk back.

"Kid-." He started, but Sam interrupted.

"Her name is _Danielle_." He hissed.

"Okay, Danielle. You know I'm not gonna hurt you, don't you?"

She shrugged. No, she didn't know that. If she said or did the wrong thing, he or Sam might get mad and beat her, like grandpa.

"Well, I'm not and neither is Sam." Dean continued, starting the car. It roared to life. "I have a vague idea what kind of man your grandpa was, so you need to know that Winchester's don't hit women."

"Unless they're demons." Sam added.

"Right." Dean looked in the rearview mirror at her. "Is that clear?"

"Yes." She whispered. She understood what he was saying, but what if he was lying? She decided she would try to relax and worry about it if either of them showed any signs of anger.

That night they stopped at a little motel. Sam and Dean helped Danielle carry her things in. She threw out her old stuff and packed her new bag with her new clothes.

"You want to take a shower, Dani?" Sam asked.

She looked at him. Only her mother had ever called her that. "What did you call me?"

"Dani." He said. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah." She said.

She used her new shampoo and conditioner on her hair. It felt good to wash it clean. She scrubbed her face with a washcloth, then washed her body, careful to avoid the welts just healing on her back. She knew she should ask someone for some salve to put on them before they became infected, but she didn't want the guys to know about them.

When she came out of the shower, the little room smelled heavily of food.

"I didn't know what you would like." Her dad said, handing her a bag. "So I just got you a plain cheeseburger and some fries. Oh, and a sweet tea."

"Thank you." She said. The last thing she had eaten had been that sandwich at Bobby's. She tore into her food, Sam and Dean watching in amazement.

"Dean," Sam said. "She really is your daughter."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

Danielle knew they were teasing her, but she didn't care. She was _starving_. After she had eaten her fill, she noticed that someone had had a little cot brought in for her and had made it up.

"I figured you'd rather sleep on that than with me or Dean." Sam explained. "Since you really don't know us yet."

"Thank you." She said again. She wasn't used to people being this nice to her, except for her mom. She climbed into the cot and Sam covered her up. "Good night."

"Night."

The last thing she saw before her eyes drooped shut was the two of them whispering heatedly in the corner.

"I think that old S.O.B beat her pretty bad." Sam was saying. He looked over at his niece's sleeping form. "Why else would she act like she does?"

Dean ran his fingers through his hair. It had been a long day. "I don't know." He said. It made him angry to think that he'd had a daughter out there for twelve years that he never knew about, let alone that she had been being treated cruelly.

"We're keeping her with us." Sam told him.

"I know that." Dean replied. "What else would we do with her?"

"Just...don't get any ideas." Sam said.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means." Sam said, laying back on his bed.


	2. Home: Part One

When Danielle awoke the next morning, her dad and her uncle was discussing something quietly on one of their beds.

"Uh..." Dean nodded over Sam's shoulder when he noticed that Danielle was awake.

Sam turned and smiled when he saw her. "Hey, kiddo. You hungry?"

She smiled and nodded, climbing off her cot. Her dad and uncle were already dressed, so she grabbed some of her new clothing and went into the bathroom.

Danielle looked down at what she had. A pair of blue jeans and a Mickey Mouse t-shirt. She had been so out of it the night before that Sam had picked out most of her clothing. She inspected the shirt, then shrugged. Oh, well. It was cute, at least. She brushed her teeth and pulled her hair back into a quick braid, then swiped on some of the deodorant her uncle had bought her.

"Ready?" Her dad asked when she came out. SHe nodded. She tossed her pajama's in her bag and zipped it up. They made their way out to the car.

Sam held the back door open for her and she climbed in.

"So, Danielle, what grade are you in?" He asked, settling into his seat.

She hesitated. How was she supposed to tell them that she had never had any formal schooling? She could read well, and write, and she could do math. Her grandpa said that she didn't need more than that. But telling Sam and Dean this would take a lot of words and Danielle didn't like words much. So, she settled for shrugging her shoulders.

Sam seemed surprised. "You don't know what grade your in?" She shook her head. "Uh, Dani, have you ever gone to school at all?" Another head shake.

Sam and Dean exchanged angry looks. Dean didn't hold much by school, he had hated it himself, but what kind of person would intentenally deprive a child an education? And for what? Just to be cruel?

Sam grabbed a book out of the glove box and handed it to her. "Can you read this, Danielle?" He asked. She glanced at it and shook her head. "You can't read?" He asked gently.

"Not that." She said. "It isn't in English."

Sam realized he hand handed her a Latin chant book. "Sorry." He said, handing her something else. He looked at it this time. It was a back issue of Car Craft Magazine.

"The Second Generation Chevrolet Camaro was introduced to market in February 1970 and remained in production for 12 years." She read aloud.

Sam sighed with relief. She could read, then. "Can you write?" He asked her. She nodded. "How much math do you know?"

"I can add and subtract." She whispered. "That's it."

Sam turned to Dean. "I know of a website where I could test her, see what grade she should be in. Then I can start her schooling."

"Okay." Dean fought a grin at how Sam had just assumed he would be the one to teach Danielle. He would, of course, but it was still funny. He stopped grinning when he thought about the abuse the little girl, _his_ little girl, in the backseat had suffered through.

She was sitting, with her head ducked down, picking at a scab on her finger. Dean knew he should say something to her, but he didn't know what to say. What could you, in a situation like this? _'Hey I'm sorry I haven't been there for you the past twelve years while your grandfather abused you and your mother basically ignored you'_? Yeah, that was gonna go over well.

They grabbed some breakfast at a local diner, then went back to motel room to eat. Danielle ate her pancakes and sausage links in silence, while Dean looked something up on the laptop and Sam sketched out a drawing on his napkin. Danielle moved closer to him.

"What's that?" She asked. Sam looked up, startled to she had spoke with out being spoken to first.

"I don't know." He answered truthfully.

"All right." Dean said. "I've been cruisin' some websites. I think I've found some candidates for our next gig. A fishing trawler found off the coast of Cali, it's crew gone. And, uh, some cattle mutilations in West Texas." He looked to realize that his brother was still drawing and that his daughter was staring at SpongeBob on tv. "Hello? Am I boring you guys with all this hunting evil stuff?"

"No, I'm listening." Sam said. Danielle didn't answer, but she did shift her gaze back to her father. "Keep going."

"And, here," Dean continued. "A Sacramento man shot himself in the head. Three times." He realized once again that Sam wasn't pay attention, so he waved his hand in front of Sam's face energetically. "Any of these things blowin' up your skirt, boy-o?"

Sam was studying the picture he had been drawing. Danielle tried to get a better look at it and realized it was a tree.

"I've seen this." Sam said. He got up, walked around his niece and started to search though his duffel bag.

"Seen what?" Dean asked. He shot a quizzical look at Danielle and she shrugged. "Sam, what are you doing?"

Sam held up two things, the picture he had been drawing and a snapshot. Danielle moved to look over her father shoulder. The snapshot was old, older than her, and showed a family: a mom, the dad, a little boy, and a baby. Looking at the little boy, she realized that it was her dad. So, that would make the baby Sam. She then glanced at the drawing of a tree. Hmm. It was just like a tree in the background of the snapshot.

"I know where we're going next." Sam said.

"Where?"

"Back home. Back to Kansas." Sam answered.

Dean frowned. "Okay, random. Where'd that come from?"

Sam held the photo up again. "This was taken in front of our old house, right? The one where, um, Mom died?"

Dean frowned again. "Yeah..."

"And it didn't burn down, right? I mean, not completely. They rebuilt it, right?"

Dean sighed. "I guess so, yeah. What are you talking about?"

Sam ran his fingers through his hair. "Okay, look, this is gonna sound crazy but...the people who live in our old house, I think they might be in...danger."

Dean looked at him like he was insane. "Why would you think that?"

"Uh...it's just, um...look, would you just trust me on this one?"

Dean held up his hands. "Wait, trust you?"

It sounded to Danielle like they were going to start arguing, so she got up and hurried into the bathroom. Arguing led to fighting and fighting led to fist swing and she didn't want to be in the middle of that. She waited in the bathroom till someone knocked on the door.

"Danielle?" It was her dad.

"Yeah?" She answered.

"You okay in there?" He sounded genuinely concerned.

"Yeah."

"Well, we're getting ready to go. Are you ready?"

She opened the door. "I'm ready."

She helped carry their stuff to the car and she climbed in the back seat.

"Tonight," Sam turned around to tell her. "We're going to start some of those test I was talking about. How does that sound?"

"That sounds good." She said, and actually smiled at him. "Where are we going?"

"Kansas." her dad answered. "We're going to Kansas."

Danielle saw a look pass between the two men and knew she had struck a nerve. She tried to settle back in her seat and look at one of the magazines that Sam had bought her, but they kept asking her questions. Danielle got the feeling that they were talking to her to keep from talking to one another.

"What's your favorite color?" Sam had asked her.

"Pink." She answered.

Her dad had asked her about food, what kind did she like? She shrugged. How could she tell them she was totally and completely, 100% compatible? She ate what you told her to eat, slept where you said to sleep, wore what you wanted her to wear. She had no identity of her own.

It didn't take very long to get to Kansas from South Dakota. It was still light outside when they pulled up in front of the house. The two brothers stared at it silently for a minute.

"You gonna be okay?" Sam asked Dean.

Dean half-smiled. "Let me get back to you on that, okay?"

The three of them headed across the front lawn up to the door. Danielle could see that her father was visibly upset, so she slipped her hand into his. He look down, surprised when he felt pressure in his palm, but smiled at her and squeezed her hand.

Sam knocked, loudly, on the front door. A blonde woman answered. Danielle noticed that her uncle paled when he saw her.

"Can I help you?" She asked, looking quizzically at them.

"Sorry, to bother you, ma'am, but we're with the Federal-." Dean started, but Sam cut him off.

"I'm Sam Winchester, and this is my brother, Dean and his daughter, Dani. Dean and I lived here when we were kids. We were just driving by and wondered if we could stop and see the old place." he said.

"Winchester. Hmm. You know, that's funny." The woman said. "I think I found some of your old photo's the other night."

"You did?" Dean asked, surprised. He squeezed Danielle's hand again.

"Yeah. Come on in." the woman said. "I'm Jenny, by the way."

"Nice to meet you."

They followed her into the kitchen, Danielle clutching her father the entire way. It seemed now that she held on to him, she didn't want to let go. In the kitchen, a girl a little younger than Danielle sat at the table doing schoolwork. Danielle looked at her enviously. A toddler, a little boy, bounced in his playpen.

"Juice! Juice! Juice!" He squealed.

"This is Richie." Jenny explained. She grabbed a sippy cup out of the fridge and handed it to the baby. "He's kind of a juice junkie. At least he won't get scurvy." She walked over to the girl, ruffled her hair. "Sari, this is Sam, Dean, and Dani. They used to live here."

Dean waved and Danielle tried to smile. Strangers made her nervous.

"Hey, Sari." Sam said.

"So, you guys just move in?" Dean asked. Danielle was still clutching his hand. He moved a little closer to her, trying to silently comfort whatever was wrong.

"Yeah." Jenny answered. "From Wichita."

"You got family here...or...?"

"No, no." She shook her head. "I just needed, uh, a fresh start, is all. So, new town, new job - as soon as I find one - new house. You know."

"So, how do you like it so far?" Sam asked.

Jenny shook her head. Well, uh, all due respect to your childhood home, I mean, I'm sure you have lots of happy memories here. This place, it has it's issues though."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "Well, it's just getting old. Like the wiring, you know? Flickering lights almost hourly."

"That's too bad." Dean said. "What else?"

Jenny thought for a second. "Um...sinks backed up, rats in the basement." she paused. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain."

Dean shook his head. "It's okay. Look, have you seen rats or just heard scratching?"

"Just the scratching, actually." Jenny answered.

"Mom?" The little girl, Sari, asked. Her mom knelt down next to her. "Ask them if it was here when they lived here."

"What Sari?" Sam asked.

"The thing in my closet."

Even Danielle felt shocked. She, at least, knew what was out there, had seen things that no child should have to see. She felt pity for this girl.

"Oh, no, baby." Her mom was comforting her. "There was nothing in their closets." She sent looks to Sam and Dean. "Right?"

"Right." Sam answered. "Of course not."

"She had a nightmare the other night." Jenny explained.

"I wasn't dreaming." Sari insisted. "It came into my room and it was on fire."

Her dad and uncle made chitchat for a few more minutes, then they left. On the way to car, Sam started to talk.

"You hear that? A figure on fire." He said.

"And that woman, Jenny. She's the woman from your dreams?"

Danielle looked at them, confused. Dreams? What was this...oh, this was probably something they had discussed while she was in the bathroom. Well, you miss interesting things when you're hiding out.

"Yeah." Sam said. "And did you hear what she was saying? Scratching, flickering lights? Both are signs of a malevolent spirit."

They climbed in the car, Danielle lay down in the back, still listening.

"Yeah," Dean was saying. "Well, I'm just freaked out that your weirdo visions are coming true."

Sam's voice sounded an octave higher than usual. "Forget about that for a minute. The thing in the house, you think it's the same thing that killed Mom and Jessica?"

Danielle frowned. Who was Jessica? One of these days, she was going to have to get the entire story from these two, so she could understand what was going on. This was confusing. What had happened to their mother, her grandmother? She knew something bad had happened in that house, she felt it in her gut as soon as she stepped through the door. She didn't ask any questions, though, Now wasn't the time. So she just lay back, listening to them talk, and closed her eyes.


End file.
